Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A monument to morons

As ever I am indebted to the village members for keeping me up todate on goings on in Riga. In this case J......(Irish with recent Arabic connnections) for this contribution - prizes for the best the best excuse from pissed British Cretins caught at the Freedom Monument to be decided by a Russian jury.

British national gets five-day arrest for urinating at Freedom Monument

RIGA, Feb 19, BNS - The Riga Center District Court ruled an unusually tough punishment -- five-day administrative arrest -- for a British national who was held urinating at the Freedom Monument in Riga.

The court said that 34-year old Shirzey Heshmat from London can appeal the court's decision within 20 days before the administrative regional court. According to the court ruling, Heshmat has not plead himself guilty at court. He said that he was not relieving himself at the monument, he had been just running around the stairs at the monument for fun, which caused his trousers fall down, and the police held him, when he was trying to fix the trousers.

The court took into account the place of committing the offence and an aggravating circumstance that defendant had been under influence of alcohol.

So far foreigners who had been caught relieving themselves at the Freedom Monument had received fines only, and such punishments arouse from Latvian officials.

Latvia's special police force Alfa officers detained the British national for urinating at the Monument of Freedom in Riga at 9:35 p.m. on Monday. An administrative case for ptite hooliganism has been launched and such an offence carries a fine of up to 50 lats (EUR 71) or administrative arrest of up to 15 days.

Several high-ranking Latvian officials have voiced a negative attitude to foreigners urinating at the Monument of Freedom. Mayor of Riga Janis Birks was surprised about low punishments imposed on the foreigners urinating at the monument and said that he had considered possibilities of granting municipal police the authority to punish the offenders.

The National Police chief Aldis Lieljuksis said that the 50 lats fine is too low for the offence. The 15-day administrative arrest would be more appropriate.

Latvian Interior Minister Mareks Seglins urged Municipal Police to punish these offenders with less tolerance and more strictness within the norms of the existing legislation.

According to BNS estimates, eight foreigners had been caught relieving themselves at the Freedom Monument since 2006, majority of them being British nationals. Last week a New Zealand's national, who came to Latvia for his bachelor's party, was held for taking photographs in the "attire" of movie character Borat at the Monument of Freedom. Last year a Scottish national was caught flashing his manhood at the monument.

The Freedom Monument has also been used for mountaineering records as last year drunk Polish and Norwegian nationals were attempting to climb it. Just goes to show that cretins are independent of nationality, English, Scottish, & New Zealanders all in one story - but where we ask are the Welsh and Irish ? - probably around the back of the cathederal in Dome Square or in the case off one one Welsh person, in the park behind the closed toilet facility !!